


all i know is (infatuations)

by princessoftheworlds



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mutual Pining, Teen Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:20:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24611404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/princessoftheworlds/pseuds/princessoftheworlds
Summary: Seventh-year Slytherin Ianto Jones handles a break up, getting a boyfriend, terrible emotional misunderstandings with his best friend Jack Harkness, being miserable, and reconciliation. (Not precisely in that order.)
Relationships: Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones, Jack Harkness/John Hart, Lisa Hallett/Ianto Jones, Owen Harper/Toshiko Sato
Comments: 12
Kudos: 59





	all i know is (infatuations)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [temporalSilence](https://archiveofourown.org/users/temporalSilence/gifts).



> HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAIT! You asked for a Harry Potter AU where Jack and Ianto are both Slytherins. Also, you asked for angst! So I gave you both.
> 
> WARNING! THIS FIC HAS A LOT OF ANGST! BLAME CAIT, NOT ME.
> 
> Thanks to Kai for listening to me bitch about how angsty this was becoming and thanks to Alicia for editing. Also, thanks to Louise in general for being so lovely. Ily!

Come to think of it, this all begins with Lisa Hallett. It all begins with Lisa Apparating to Ianto’s sister’s house and asking to see Ianto a week before his birthday. She guides Ianto to a nearby park and sits him down on a bench.

“Ianto,” begins Lisa, hands clasped in her lap, purposefully sitting an inch away from Ianto. “Ianto Jones. You’re a wonderful, wonderful boy, and I love you. I really do.”

“I love you too, Lisa,” Ianto tells her, rolling his eyes endearingly. “We’ve been dating for two years; you don’t have to keep reassuring me that you love me.” He reaches over to take her hand and frowns as she angles her body away. 

“I love you, Ianto,” she repeats, and suddenly, faint dread starts churning in Ianto’s stomach, feeling like rats. “And this is not about you, not against you at all. It’s just...we’re at different places in life now. I’m going to work in the Ministry, and you’re still in school.”

“Lisa?” Ianto asks hoarsely, eyes watching her wildly. He wraps his fingers solidly around his wand - acacia with a phoenix feather core, twelve and one-half inches - and tries to ground himself.

“I think we should break up,” she blurts out.

And that’s how it all begins, with Ianto’s carefully-crafted world falling apart.

* * *

“C’mon, Ianto,” Jack wheedles, trying to tug Ianto out of the bed. He clambers on top of Ianto, and Ianto, face buried in the pillow, heart aching, tries to ignore how he can feel his best friend’s slight erection brushing against his legs, even through the cotton of his pajamas. Jack struggles with shoving the pillow out from under Ianto’s head. “It’s been a week! You have to stop moping!” He hesitates before trying another tactic: “It’s your birthday; there’s gotta be an official rule about moping on your birthday.”

It’s Ianto’s seventeenth birthday, and as with all of Ianto’s past five birthdays, he and his friends are gathered on the Thane estate out in Scotland to celebrate. They’ve already spent a day here and will spend another day here before it’s back to Wales for Ianto and Gwen before the Hogwarts term begins a few weeks later. The manor is all empty; Jack’s parents - Franklin Thane and his wife - died when he was a baby, and so young Javic Piotr Thane was taken in by a family friend - the mysterious Doctor - and became Jack Harkness. This is the first summer that the Doctor, an odd bloke even by Ianto’s standards, is not here to supervise them on the estate.

“Oi,” Owen calls, remerging into Jack’s bedroom from the bathroom, “leave the bloke alone. His serious girlfriend just broke up with him.” His tone softens, and Ianto knows that everything must be bad if _Owen’s_ making the effort to be sympathetic and nicer to him. “I went through the same thing with Katie, mate. You’re on top of the world one day, the next, your bird breaks up with you.” Judging from Jack’s yelp and the sudden lightness of Ianto’s body, Owen has hauled Jack off the bed. “But Harkness does have a point; you will feel better if you hang out with us a bit.”

“Hey!” Jack protests. “How is that any different from what I said?” He hisses as he gets gently smacked on the back of the head by Gwen who enters the room trailed by Tosh. 

“Don’t take Jack’s advice, love,” Gwen says, sitting down next to Ianto. She unconsciously runs her fingers over her wand. “He’s never been in a relationship.”

“I will never settle down,” Jack calls, and Ianto groans; they’ve all heard Jack’s relationship and labels rant before.

“Is there anything we can do to make you feel better, Ianto?” Tosh asks gently, running a hand across the part of Ianto’s scalp not covered by the pillow.

It’s all too much for poor Ianto who just wants to be left alone to - as Jack put it - “mope,” which is why he finds himself yelling, “Enough!”

Startled, Gwen moves off the bed, and Tosh lifts her hand off Ianto’s head. Judging by the creak of the floorboards, even either Owen or Jack takes a step back.

Ianto sits up, pushing the pillow away from his head. He glares at his friends, crossing his arms over his chest. “I know that the four of you have good intentions and that it is my birthday,” he tells them, words spilling so quickly from his lips that he lets a few things loose that he rather they not know, “but you’re making me feel worse!” 

Owen raises an eyebrow, and Tosh mutters a quiet apology. Even Gwen looks contrite, but Jack, oh, Jack only gazes back challengingly. 

Ianto sighs, lowering his voice. “Look, please just give me an hour.” Enough time for him to get himself composed and under control again. “Then we can all go downstairs and celebrate my birthday.”

Without waiting for a response, he gathers his clothes from his rucksack, grabs his wand from the bedside table, and flees to the bathroom. Thankfully, the water pressure in the Thane household is good, and the ancient pipes are creaky enough that none of his friends can hear Ianto sob.

* * *

Breakfast is all of Ianto’s favorite sweet and savory foods, all cooked to perfection by the Thanes’ house elf Mandy. Again, Jack reminds Gwen that Mandy works for them by choice and gets paid a rather hefty sum per month.

They cluster into the sizable living room for an hour and watch as Ianto carefully cuts and peels the wrapping paper from his gifts, flattening them into thin sheets and setting them aside, Owen sighing all the while at his meticulous antics. Owen and Gwen had come together to give Ianto a whole stack of new mystery books of a Muggleborn writer he really likes - he’s sure they won’t fit into his trunk, and several packages of dark chocolate from Honeydukes. Tosh gifts Ianto a self-cleaning mug, a Potions knife she says is enchanted to perfectly slice his ingredients, and a small coin pouch that’s “bigger on the inside.” She beams when Ianto compliments her spellwork.

Jack waits for Gwen and Tosh to leave to get ready and for Owen to go explore the garden before he approaches Ianto with his birthday gift.

“So it’s a Wizarding tradition,” Jack begins, holding the small wooden box behind his back and swaying nervously on his feet, “to give a wizard a watch on his seventeenth birthday. When they come of age, and everything.” He shrugs. “It’s usually their family that does so, but seeing as we don’t have any…” He swallows loosely, eyes fixed on the floor. “The Doctor gave me a watch on my birthday, but I wanted to…” 

“Jack,” Ianto says calmly, hiding how touched he is by Jack’s thoughtfulness. “It’s okay. You can just give me the gift.”

Blushing fiercely and looking contrite in a way that he so rarely does, Jack hands over the box, watching as Ianto traces fingers over the intricate carvings before slowly creaking the lid open.

“ _Oh_ , _Jack_.” Carefully, Ianto lifts the elegant pocket watch from the box and turns it over in his hand. Its silver is tarnished from age, but it’s in otherwise perfect condition, etched with swirling, runic carvings, with a delicate knob at the top, composed of two arching spirals of silver. A thin silver chain dangles from below the knob. The pocket watch is clearly well-loved and well-used, and its metal warms slightly to Ianto’s touch. “Jack, you didn’t have to.”

“It belonged to my grandfather,” Jack explains, regaining some of his composure. “It’s a Thane family heirloom.” A moment’s pause: “I want you to have it. Happy birthday!”

“Jack,” Ianto protests, heart aching. “I can’t. You only have so much of your family’s history.”

“I want you to have it,” insists Jack. “Keep it.” He smiles softly at Ianto who fights hard to ignore the fluttering in his stomach. “You’re my best friend.”

To Ianto, the boy who has been in love with his best friend since he was fourteen, Jack’s genuine, proud smile is the most precious thing in the world, brighter than any sunlight, more valuable than all the gold in Gringotts, more powerful than Merlin.

Then of course, the moment is ruined by Gwen clambering down the stairs, hair still damp, and she hollers into the living room, “Are you boys coming to play Quidditch or not?”

It’s Jack and Ianto against Owen and Gwen as they zoom around in the large field behind Jack’s manor, chasing a Golden snitch that one of Jack’s ancestors once caught in the Quidditch World Cup. Tosh, the referee, sits under the shade of a large lemon tree, but she reads her book more than actually observes the game, occasionally idly levitating leaves with her wand. 

Well, that is until Owen soars down next to Tosh and gently Summons the book out of her hand, his own wand held aloft. “I’m joining Jack and Ianto,” he tells her. “It’s boys against girls now.”

Ianto pretends not to notice how Tosh gives him a fond smile, which Owen returns.

Despite Jack’s natural prowess as a Quidditch player - and the fact that he’s actually both a Beater on and the captain of the Slytherin team, Tosh and Gwen turn out to be an excellent coordinated team and sweep the boys off their brooms, winning two of three matches they play. Ianto is laughing as he flits through the air, chasing after Jack more than the Snitch, and is considerably happier than he was hours ago; he barely even thinks of Lisa throughout the day, which he doesn’t reflect on until later.

After a quick break for lunch, they resume and play until the sun goes down before returning to the manor. They fall onto the dinner Mandy’s cooked like a pack of hungry wolves and then help clean it up sans their wands. Jack fetches several bottles of Firewhisky from the basement before they retreat upstairs. 

As the night wears on, the five teenagers get tipsier and tipsier, giggling, poking fun at each other, and playing games. Gwen and Jack are oblivious to Tosh and Owen’s not-so-subtle flirting and keep asking why Ianto is hysterical with laughter. Owen sweeps them in Gobstones, and Jack keeps them thoroughly entertained with stories of the misfortunes of Thane ancestors. It’s several hours past midnight when Gwen and then Tosh excuse themselves to bed. Not even half an hour later, Owen is passing out too, leaving Jack and Ianto the last ones standing.

Jack picks up the half-empty bottle of Firewhisky and nods to Ianto. “Let’s go to the roof,” he says, and Ianto follows.

* * *

The roof of the Thane Manor is arched and covered with elegant carvings that are more understated rather than ostentatious, but there is a flat stretch where one can sit and overlook the back garden. Jack can often be found here reading, sketching, or napping when he returns to the estate, and it’s here where Jack and Ianto perch, their feet dangling over the edge.

The world swims around Ianto, the moon a silver blob in the otherwise dark sky above them, and he sits perfectly still and silent, not wanting to risk tipping off the roof, passing the bottle between hin and Jack and taking swigs. Belatedly, he realizes that he left his wand behind in Jack’s bedroom and giggles drunkenly a little. 

Ianto takes a final swig from the bottle, relishing the burn of Firewhisky down his throat, finds it drained empty, and sets it aside. Grinning widely, Jack lazily Levitates it into the air with his wand, and chuckling, they watch as it flings out into an arc, landing into the garden.

After about ten minutes, Jack breaks their comfortable silence and asks, “Do you miss your parents?”

It’s not a new topic of conversation between them.

“Yes,” Ianto tells him, words slurring; despite his strained relationship with his father, he does miss his mum and dad. Rhiannon tries her best, but she’s not their parents, and she has David and Mica - and Johnny - to worry about. “Do you miss yours?” He’s asked Jack the same question several times throughout the years of their friendship, but the other boy’s always been evasive.

“Yeah, I miss them,” admits Jack, glancing toward the garden. He playfully swings his legs through the air, his body language in contrast with his somber tone. “I tell people I don’t remember my parents, but I’m lying. I do remember them. I remember my mum holding me in her arms, my dad ruffling my hair.” He inhales sharply.

Jack’s parents died in a house fire in London, his mother pregnant with their second child - a baby boy named Gray. The Doctor tried his best, but Jack grew up lonely and wild on the Thane estate. Jack’s own tragedy allowed him to comfort Ianto when his own Muggle parents died in a car accident during their fourth year, bringing them closer through the shared bond of orphanage. It was during this period of mourning that Ianto fell for Jack.

“ _Oh_ ,” Ianto says solemnly, but it doesn’t seem enough. Belatedly: “I wish I could have met your parents. If they were anything like you, I would have liked them.”

“They would have _loved_ you.” Jack snorts. “Based on the Doctor’s stories, they would have hated me. Always flirting, sleeping around? My parents had been engaged at sixteen, as is the Pureblood way.” He shrugs before repeating more quietly, “They would have loved you. You’re smart, well-mannered, clever, witty, and fantastic at Ancient Runes.”

Ianto’s eyes burn with embarrassment. “Tosh is smarter than me,” he blurts out, the Firewhisky having loosened his tongue. “Besides, your parents would have loved _you_. You have excellent grades, you’re a Quidditch captain, and you’re basically fearless.” A beat. “You were the first student to actually successfully defeat your Boggart in Defense Against the Dark Arts.” He glances towards Jack and finds him gazing down at his lap.

“But what does that even mean?” Jack murmurs. “I’ve been lonely my entire life. I’m practically destined to stay alone.” His voice drops to an even quieter mumble, and Ianto basically has to strain his ears to pick up his next few words: “ _The one person I love doesn’t love me back_ …”

Jack’s not alone, and Ianto has to show him that. He has Ianto.

Ianto lunges forward, but in his drunken enthusiasm, he accidentally shoves Jack flat to the rooftop, the other boy yelping, and straddles his waist. They’re both panting, Jack gazing up at him with wide, amazed eyes. Then, impulsively, Ianto grabs the collar of Jack’s shirt, dragging Jack towards him to capture his mouth, forcing the other boy to throw out his arms to hold himself up.

Jack’s mouth tastes like Firewhisky and also faintly of the coffee cake they had for dessert, and Ianto’s mind distantly observes how Jack smells sharp and cleaner than Lisa’s own heavy rose scent; he’s not sure which one he prefers. Their lips move hot, wet, and slick against each other, sending a swimming giddiness through Ianto’s body, scattering his thoughts even more and hardening his cock. 

Gently, he nips Jack’s lower lip, and in retaliation, Jack wrests a firm hand in Ianto’s curls, and just for further measures, thrusts his hips up to grind their growing erections together. Ianto moans quietly and probes Jack’s mouth with his tongue, shivers running up his spine when it tangles against Jack’s own. 

The need to breath overpowers the need for each other, so Ianto reluctantly forces his mouth from Jack’s. The other boy slumps back to the ground, lifting a tender hand to traces along Ianto’s cheekbones, his thumb slipping over Ianto’s lips. Ianto leans into Jack’s touch.

“I love you,” Jack blurts out, expression painfully earnest.

Ianto’s heart jumps a little in his chest, but then Jack’s words actually register in his mind: “ _What_?”

Jack’s eyebrows knit together, and his eyes widen even more until he looks a bit like a bewildered puppy. “I love you,” he repeats, fingers still running along Ianto’s skin.

“Fuck,” says Ianto, and then, with great emotion, “Oh, _fuck,_ ” clambering off of Jack and dropping down besides him. He buries his face in his hands, muttering to himself: “What am I _doing_ ? Lisa broke up with me barely a week ago. I loved her; I was going to marry her. Now, I’m kissing my best friend?” He feels Jack’s hesitant hand come to rub between his shoulders, and he stiffens. “ _Don’t touch me_!”

The hand on his back is yanked back as if Jack’s been scalded by hot water. “Alright, alright,” the other boy says, sounding hurt. Ianto doesn’t need to glance up at Jack to know that his best friend’s eyes are pained and that his jaw is clenched tight; Ianto has studied Jack’s face painted with every emotion, and he knows them all by heart.

“I’m sorry, Jack,” Ianto replies, words muffled by his hands. “I’d tell you I love you too, but I don’t know if that would be the truth. It’s too soon after Lisa.” It’s a lie; he knows that it would be the truth, but he doesn’t want to see the hope grow in Jack’s expression. _Oh_ , he’s _too drunk_ for this. “I need to go.”

Despite Jack’s cries, Ianto doesn’t turn back as he races off the roof nor does the aching in his heart quell as he paces through the garden.

When he finally returns to Jack’s bedroom several hours later, Owen’s wedged on the floor, and Jack’s sound asleep in his own bed. If Ianto were to cast a _Lumos_ , he would see the dried tear tracks against Jack’s cheeks. 

Ianto sleeps barely a wink for the rest of the night, briefly slumbering off, but when he wakes up, head pounding and mind filled with Firewhisky-tinged memories he regrets, Ianto is intent to apologize to his best friend.

But when he goes downstairs for breakfast, Jack frostily turns his back on him and refuses to speak to him.

* * *

Rhiannon stops her car outside of the Kings Cross station and turns off the engine. She glances over at Ianto. “Are you sure you don’t want me to accompany you inside?”

Ianto sighs, shoulders dropping. “Rhiannon, for the final time, thank you for driving me to the station. You didn’t need to; I could have taken the train. Or the bus.” He pauses, watching as her hesitant expression becomes a bit disheartened. “Honestly, Rhiannon, I’ll be fine.”

“I just wanted to spend some last time with you,” she tells him, biting her lip. It’s a nervous habit for both Jones siblings. She drums her fingers against the wheel, deliberate with her next few words. “You’ve been quiet all summer, especially since you came back from Scotland after your birthday. And this is your last year at,” - bless Rhiannon, she doesn’t hesitate too much - “your school. Then, you’ll be off to work at the Ministry and live with your wizard and witch friends, and we won’t see you anymore.”

“Rhiannon,” Ianto begins, feeling slightly sad. He and his older sister had been quite close as kids, but Rhiannon had been a teenager when Ianto had received his Hogwarts letter and their Muggle family had discovered that they had latent magical genes. Living with Johnny, she hadn’t been around to see how their father had turned against the magical son he already had disliked and how their mother supported Ianto the best she could in the face of the Jones patriarch's rage. “You, the kids, and even Johnny, you’re all the only family I have. I’ll come back to visit whenever I can.”

At this, Rhiannon’s smile widens, but Ianto doesn’t have a chance to see it because he’s squeezed tightly into his sister’s arms for a hug. “I love you, you silly idiot.” She finally releases Ianto.

“I...love you too,” he tells her, and she rolls her eyes at his hesitance. He quickly kisses her cheek. “Give my love to Mica and David.” After a moment: “And Johnny.”

Rhiannon turns the engine back on after he lifts his trunk and Myfanwy’s empty cage - Myfanwy already having flown back to Hogwarts - from the boot, but she doesn’t drive away until he’s inside. Quickly, Ianto pushes through the brick barrier for Platform 9 ¾ and emerges before the gleaming Hogwarts Express.

He nods to a few younger students he knows and has worked with as Prefects as he makes his way to the compartment he usually shares with his friends, lugging his trunk behind him. Inside, he finds that he’s not the first one; Owen, Tosh, and - to his surprise - Gwen are already there, playing Exploding Snap.

“Jones!” Owen crows at his arrival, jabbing his wand towards Ianto like a conductor. “Hurry up and get your trunk put away. I need you to play for me. Tosh is kicking my arse.” 

Tosh smirks. “If you played by the rules, maybe you would stand a chance.” She deals another card to her already-growing stack.

Rolling his eyes, Ianto ignores Owen and heaves his trunk onto the luggage rack, shoving over Gwen’s haphazardly-placed rucksack to make room for Myfanwy’s cage. Then after pressing a kiss to Tosh’s cheek in greeting, he drops down onto the seat besides Gwen: “When did you get here?”

She’s so focused on the game that she barely glances over at him. “Took the train. I called your house to ask if you wanted to come, but Rhiannon said she wanted to drive you instead.”

Ianto rolls his eyes; at least his sister had had good intentions. He nods to Tosh. “Deal me in.”

They play Exploding Snap for at least twenty minutes, waiting for the rest of the students to arrive and for the Hogwarts Express to be on its way. Although no one mentions their one missing friend, his lack of presence is definitely felt. Ianto narrowly misses getting his fingers singed as he passes a card to Owen, and Tosh is forced to spell Owen’s eyebrows back to normal, twirling her wand between her fingers. Owen promises revenge later.

Gwen then plays a ruthless move against Tosh that causes the four of them to break down into laughter. They are still giggling five minutes later, Ianto leaning against Gwen and quivering, when the compartment door slides open and a familiar head pops. 

“Hey, kids! What’s going on?” Jack asks, his trunk set down behind his legs. He casts a curious look around the compartment, nodding to Owen, Tosh, and Gwen, his gaze awkwardly catching over Ianto. For just a moment, their eyes meet, and then Jack flinches back, facing Owen again. “What’s so funny?”

“Jack!” Tosh exclaims, neatening up her hand of cards. “We were just playing Exploding Snap. I won the last round.” She smiles proudly, causing Owen to scowl playfully. “Do you want me to deal you in?”

Jack shrugs. “Nah. I think I’m gonna go sit with John and the rest of the Slytherin Quidditch team.” He flashes that same charming grin that always causes warmth to pool at the base of Ianto’s stomach. This time, it’s accompanied by the phantom memory of soft lips brushing against his own, a firm hand rooted in his curls, and he immediately shrugs the sensation off. “They need their captain,” Jack is saying. Then with one last bewildering look at Ianto, Jack is gone.

Tosh, Owen, and Gwen eye each other in confusion; they clearly didn’t miss the odd interactions or strained silence between Jack and Ianto.

“What was that about, mate?” Owen asks in his typical abrasive manner.

“Yeah,” chimes in Gwen, glancing at Ianto in concern. “The two of you haven’t talked since the night of your birthday.” A beat. “You’re both usually as thick as thieves and leaving us in the dust.”

Ianto can feel his eyes harden. “I don’t want to talk about it,” he grumbles and strips off his jacket. He bundles it under his head and then turns on his side, away from his friends and lingering thoughts of Jack.

Once the train actually starts moving, he gets up to address the Prefects. His friendship with Jack may be tentative, but he still needs to fulfill his duties as Head Boy.

* * *

For the first time in over five years, Ianto and his friends do not sit together at the Slytherin table during Sorting. Well, they do, but they’re missing Jack. Tosh and Owen keep up their discreet flirting - Ianto gives them a month into the term to reveal that they’re dating, and Gwen chatters on to Ianto about her boyfriend Rhys who is now working for the Ministry and who they’ve all met several times, but Ianto, picking idly at his steak and potatoes, keeps his gaze fixed on Jack, several students away and very openly flirting with John Hart by comparing wand sizes. Ianto bets that it’s more literal than metaphorical.

After dinner, Ianto helps the Prefects direct the new first-years to their dormitories and misses Jack exiting the Great Hall. When he finally gets up to the seventh-year Slytherin dormitory quite late in the evening, he doesn’t miss that Jack’s bed, right besides Ianto’s, is empty. So is John’s, leaving Ianto all alone. 

Unpacking his trunk and using his wand to speed up the process, Ianto casts a forlorn glance around the dormitory and then curls up on his four-poster bed, curtains pulled shut, heart aching and miserable. He tries not to sleep so that he can wait for Jack to talk to him, but he must be more tired than he originally thought because his eyes droop heavily until he finally slips under the seductive siren song of sleep.

When morning comes, he finds that Jack’s trunk is unpacked and his bed is obviously slept in, the curtains flung wide open to reveal rumpled sheets and an indented pillow. Similarly, John’s bed is unmade, and his trunk is still locked and shut on the floor.

A little shard of hurt wedges itself into Ianto. It’s their yearly tradition for Jack to wake Ianto up by jumping onto his bed and accompanying him to the Great Hall for breakfast on the first day of classes. Instead, Ianto journeys to the Great Hall alone where Jack and John are nowhere to be found. 

Tosh is sitting at the Ravenclaw table with a NEWT-level Potions textbook propped against a pitcher of juice. She flips through it at the speed of light, ignoring her bowl of porridge. “Sleep well?” she asks Ianto without glancing up.

“Well enough.” He takes a seat on the bench opposite her; he doesn’t want to give her or Gwen - and even Owen - more fodder to badger him about him and Jack. He serves himself some toast and sausages.

Gwen and Owen turn up soon enough to join them as the Great Hall begins to fill up with bleary-eyed, sluggish students. They compare the schedules that the Heads of their respective Houses have handed out. Tosh and Ianto are in the same NEWT-level Transfiguration, Arithmancy, and Ancient Runes classes. Owen joins them for NEWT-level Potions. All three of them, plus Gwen and Jack, are in NEWT-level Defense Against the Dark Arts. The only class Ianto has alone with Jack is NEWT-level Astronomy, his last class of the week, but he doubts he’ll get a chance to talk to Jack then.

The week passes by slowly. Despite it being their seventh and final year, their professors pile on essays and readings. Ianto has to juggle his schedule around to be able to do his assignments during free periods and still carry out his Head Boy duties. One week in, and he’s already in above his head, barely able to see his friends during meal times or even Myfanwy in the Owlery - though she’s a fairly independent bird, so Ianto thinks she’ll understand - let alone worry about Jack. 

Not that Jack’s helping Ianto by making it easier to talk to him, to talk about what happened the night of Ianto’s birthday. The other boy has basically become a ghost. 

The third morning Ianto wakes up to find both Jack and John’s beds empty, he has had enough. It’s been three days since they arrived at Hogwarts, and he still hasn’t seen heads or tails of his roommates, so he packs up his trunk and levitates it to the Room of Requirement, sending up camp there. 

Finally, away from the dormitory that is so obvious in its lack of Jack, he allows himself to break down and cries himself to sleep. He hasn’t felt this lonely in a while, and despite the fact that he’s finally gotten a grip on his classes and Head Boy duties and has managed to spend time with Tosh, Owen, and Gwen, he misses Jack like anything. He knows his other friends haven’t seen Jack either; all of Jack’s available time seems to be monopolized by John Hart, and Ianto knows that if things carry on like this, then Jack will be hearing angry words from Gwen, if he already hasn’t.

Thursday, the day of their Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, rolls around, and their professor has them practicing nonverbal spells together, Gwen and Ianto paired together and Tosh with Owen. Jack and John arrived to class together ten minutes late. The state of Jack’s messy hair and the bruised pink of his lips leaves no room to wonder about what made the two boys late. John only shrugs nonchalantly when the professor docks them five points, but Jack, captain of their Quidditch team, looks a tad bit guilty at his indiscretions costing Slytherin.

Gwen, noticing the not-so-furtive glances Jack keeps sneaking at Ianto, nudges her friend. “You should go over and talk to Jack,” she encourages him. “I’ll respect your choice and not badger you for what happened, but you shouldn’t lose years-worth of friendship over one argument.” She scowls at John. “Not that Jack’s making it any easier by skulking around with Hart.”

Ianto fails to muffle his amused snort, and she turns to glare at him questioningly. “Look,” he begins, “you are my friend, Gwen, but it’s not exactly in your nature to respect any of our choices. You love to gossip.”

She raises a critical eyebrow at him, a move copied exactly from his own playbook. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed you trying to change the subject, Jones.”

His shoulders slump as he sighs. “I have tried to talk to Jack. Several times by now. He’s always missing or finds some excuse to avoid me.”

Ironically, Ianto’s explanation rings false when, the next morning, he enters the Slytherin common room to fetch a few books he left behind and finds Jack sitting by the fireplace in his favorite armchair.

“Where have you been?” asks Jack confrontationally. His eyes flash dark as they travel critical over Ianto, taking in his messy hair and the plaid pajamas visible under his robes. “Spent the night in someone else’s bed?” He sneers at Ianto. “You can do that now that you and Lisa have broken up, can’t you?”

Ianto scowls. “You’re one to speak, Harkness. We barely ever see you around without Hart hanging off of you. Thought you didn’t do relationships.”

“It’s not a relationship,” Jack is quick to clarify. “We’re just fucking.” 

“I don’t know why you think you have to defend yourself to me,” Ianto retorts. 

Jack’s expression hardens. He crosses his arms over his chest. “I don’t.” A moment later: “I don’t care what you get up to either or who you sleep with. I just think you’re a hypocrite.”

“Well,” Ianto spits back, “you’ll be glad to know that I’m not sleeping with anyone. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to meet Tosh in the Great Hall for breakfast.” He storms past a gaping Jack. “And shut your mouth, Harkness, that’s not an attractive look for you.”

Their Astronomy lesson, hours later, comes too soon for Ianto’s liking. There’s no Tosh, Owen, Gwen, or even John Hart to distract them from each other, and he can feel the daggers Jack’s glaring into his back. He proceeds with setting up his own stargazing equipment on the other side of the tower, shoulders slumped.

Before today, Astronomy used to be Ianto’s favorite subject because it meant Jack pressed up against his side, his own equipment abandoned as they gazed up at the sky through Ianto’s telescope, Jack whispering his own assessments and thoughts about specific stars and planets into Ianto’s ear. Jack has an odd obsession with Muggle space exploration; Ianto bets if alien life is found, Jack will happily ditch the Wizarding world to become a Muggle astronaut. 

But if Astronomy’s going to proceed how it did today, with Ianto cold and shivering in his cloak without Jack’s warmth, Jack happily and prominently ignoring him, and their professor watching them both curiously, Ianto’s not really going to want to attend class anymore.

* * *

Later that evening, Ianto’s towards the end of his patrol as Head Boy when he passes through a corridor and hears heavy breathing, quiet moans, and the rustle of clothing coming from a nook in the stone wall. Sighing, he rolls his eyes and lifts his wand, prepared to chastise the students; at least when he and Lisa wanted to make out throughout the castle, they found more discreet spots. 

“Look,” he begins dryly, his voice travelling loudly down the cold, stone corridor, “snog all you want, just not in the castle, after hours.” He approaches the nook, and the tip of his wand flares with bright white light with a nonverbal _Lumos_ , obscuring the students from his view and likely blinding them. He can hear muttered curses and hasty movement. “As Head Boy, I’m going to,” - he finally rounds in front of the nook - “deduct points from both - _oh_ , it’s _you_.”

“ _Hello_ , _Eye Candy_ ,” John Hart purrs, heavily-lidded eyes fixed on Ianto as he wiggles a pointed hand down Jack’s pants. “You can deduct points from me _at any time you want_.” He ignores Jack’s urgent mutter of “John, stop!” and smirks. 

Ianto can’t help his flinch of disgust and steps back, his wand still held aloft to clearly illuminate the two boys. There is no question that they’d been up to. “No, no. I’m good.”

Jack’s eyes are indecipherable but similarly intent on Ianto as he finally succeeds in wrenching John’s hand away from him and zips his pants up. Hurriedly, he fixes his clothing and shoves at John to do the same. “Ianto, I-”

“Honestly,” Ianto says coldly, cutting him off and _definitely not_ wondering why Jack’s expression has turned so nervous, “the two of you are seventh-years _and_ Slytherins. You couldn’t find any better place than an open corridor?” He taps his foot expectantly, waiting for an answer. He doesn’t know why he’s feeling this odd burning in his chest, his heart tightening but also _aching_. He feels irrationally angry at having found John and Jack together, his shoulders tense and his hands balled into fists by his side.

“You should join us, Eye Candy,” John offers, his words less tinged and more _drenched_ in suggestion. “It would do you good to pull that stick out of your arse.” His smirk widens. “In fact, I believe that you would like my cock-”

“ _My name is Ianto_ ,” snaps Ianto irritatedly at the same time as Jack’s eyes harden and he growls, “ _John_!”

Ignoring Jack, Ianto continues, “You’ve been my roommate for over five years now, Hart. Shame on you for not knowing my first name.” He knows that his eyes are narrow and that his expression has become mean. “For being out of bed after curfew, five points each from Slytherin.”

“You can’t do that, Eye Candy,” John bites back threateningly.

Ianto smirks. “I’m Head Boy; I can do that.” A beat. “In fact, for disrespecting the Head Boy, _five more_ points from Slytherin. Each.” He rolls his eyes. “Don’t look so shocked. You’ll get them back easily with Quidditch.” He gives both boys curt nods and begins to stride away.

“Ianto!” Jack calls, chasing after him. “Wait. Can we talk?” His tone sounds a bit desperate, and it’s the least cold he’s been to Ianto in days. “ _Please_?”

“Go to bed, Harkness,” Ianto calls over his shoulder, continuing on towards the Great Hall.

Much later, as he curls in his bed in the Room of Requirement, he realizes that the odd burning in his chest wasn’t rage and hurt like he originally thought; it had been jealousy.

* * *

After that encounter in the corridor, the tide turns, and suddenly, Jack is everywhere and intent on talking to Ianto.

That Saturday, Ianto wakes up late and stays cooped up in the Room of Requirement, too miserable to eat and barely able to concentrate on his studies. His starving stomach wakes him up early Sunday and forces him to the Great Hall. Luckily, he’s almost done with breakfast, working on one last sausage, when Jack stumbles in, bleary-eyed. His general demeanor brightens up when he spots Ianto sitting between Tosh and Owen, and he heads toward them.

“I have to go,” Ianto mumbles, but Tosh and Owen are too preoccupied with each other to notice him. He grabs one last bread roll and makes a break for it, scurrying cowardly behind a trio of Gryffindor sixth-years. He pauses at the entrance of the Great Hall to see Jack’s expression die when he realizes that Ianto is no longer there.

From then on, Ianto stops going to the dining hall for meals and sneaks into the kitchens at odd times during the day. 

His class schedule varies wildly enough from Jack’s that they never really see each other during the day, and during the night, Jack’s always preoccupied with Quidditch practice, especially as they neared the team tryouts. Jack’s height, broad shoulders, and booming personality was enough for Ianto to be able to spot him in a corridor and sneak out of the way when necessary. 

Jack had always joked that when Ianto wanted to, he could be more invisible than someone with an invisibility cloak, and Ianto uses that to his best advantage throughout the week.

But of course, Jack learns and tries even harder. He shows up early to Defense Against the Dark Arts and tries to catch Ianto as he enters the classroom. “Can we talk?” he pleads with Ianto, using his own beautiful blue eyes to his best advantage.

“No,” Ianto tells him and walks on right inside.

Gwen frowns at him as they try nonverbal forcefield spells. “Jack’s trying,” she tells him. “Just talk to him. Whatever it is can’t be worth losing your friendship over.”

“Stay out of it, Gwen,” he replies, doing his best to keep his frustration from bleeding into his tone. “ _Please_.”

“Well, excuse me for caring about my friends,” she snaps in return and leaves him to go practice with Tosh. 

To his misfortune, his lack of a partner is spotted by Jack who immediately hurries over. “Talk to me, Ianto,” he says a bit more forcefully. “Let me apologize.”

“About what?” Ianto turns his back on Jack, swishing his hand more sharply than necessary. “I’m a hypocrite, remember.”

“I’m sorry,” begins Jack. “I was wrong.” He hesitates. “Please look at me, Ianto.”

“I rather not,” replies Ianto, and just then, their professor signals for them to return to their seats. He happily sits on the far end of the classroom, several rows over from Jack, and when the class is over, he rushes into the corridor and heads immediately to the Room of Requirement. 

Ianto worries incredibly about what Jack will try in Astronomy, but to his surprise, Jack enters the Astronomy Tower quietly, sets up his equipment, and participates in the lesson. He even lets Ianto escape peacefully after class ends, but judging by the eyes Ianto feels on his back, Jack hasn’t given up.

* * *

Finally, on Saturday morning, Ianto dares venture out to visit Myfanwy in the Owlery. She’s obviously very miffed that he hasn’t come to see her since he arrived at Hogwarts and nips sharply at his fingers as he attempts to feed her an owl treat.

“Ouch!” He glares at her, and she glares right on back with her large amber eyes. He sighs. “I’m sorry, Myfanwy. I’ve had a very busy few weeks. I promise I will be by to visit you more consistently.”

Myfanwy, a sleek tawny owl with dappled feathers who had been a birthday gift from Jack, hoots gently. She must sense how miserable Ianto’s been, because her demeanor softens and she hops closer to butt her head against his hand. Chuckling slightly, he strokes her feathers. 

“I don’t have a letter for you to deliver,” he tells her. “I just wanted to see you.”

“Ianto?” asks Jack quietly and hesitantly, standing in the entrance of the Owlery. His eyes are oddly timid for Jack Harkness, and he wrings his hands together. 

“Jack,” Ianto returns curtly. It’s just the two of them alone in the tall tower, and Jack is in front of Ianto. There’s no way for him to escape this time. He sighs again. “What do you want?”

Jack takes a step forward into the Owlery, and unconsciously, Ianto takes a step back. His back bumps against the stone wall, and he curses. “Can we talk?” Jack asks.

“You’ve got me trapped here, Jack.” Ianto reaches out to pet Myfanwy again, watching Jack carefully. But the other boy stays silent, hesitating. Finally, Ianto barks, “ _What_? What could be so important that you’ve been hunting me down to tell me this entire late week? After everything that happened in the weeks before?”

Ianto’s words have his intended impact, and Jack flinches backwards. He worries at his lower lip for a moment, before telling Ianto, “I’m sorry.”

“ _For what_?”

“I’m sorry for how I treated you after your birthday,” Jack begins. “I’m sorry for ignoring you when you tried to talk. I’m sorry for spending all my time with John.” His voice, and words, grow more confident as he speaks. “I’m sorry for not respecting your break up with Lisa. I’m sorry for being selfish. And most importantly, I’m sorry for being a bad friend.” A moment later: “Can you forgive me?”

The silence between them stretches strained and uncomfortable for several long moments, driving Ianto to a breaking point until he finally grumbles, “Maybe.” He glances to the floor, dragging his feet around like a child. “Fine.” He locks eyes with Jack. “I forgive you.”

Jack’s entire expression lights up as he beams, and Ianto’s heart flutters; a week enough for his mind to forget the effect Jack has on him, but his body didn’t. Jack straightens up, rubbing his hands together, but then, his eyes flutter as if a new thought has occurred to him: “What I said on the rooftop is true.” Snorting, he runs a hand through his hair. “I have loved you since we were fifteen. I didn’t realize I loved you since you started dating Lisa.”

The world around Ianto swims a little but not for the same reason as it did on the rooftop. His legs quiver slightly beneath him. _Oh_ , the irony. He finds himself saying, “Try fourteen.” 

“ _What_?” Jack’s head rockets up, expression bewildered. 

“I’ve loved you since we were fourteen,” Ianto explains, head bowed, words becoming a mumble. The Owlery falls silent again.

“You love me back?” asks Jack incredulously, and Ianto dares a glance at his expression. Jack’s blue, _blue_ eyes are wide and glittering with the beginning of hope. His hair is tousled boyishly, and Ianto’s fingers twitch with the urge to smooth it back into place. His fingers twitch with the urge to _touch_ Jack, run his fingers over the other boy’s smooth skin and soft lips. God, he _longs_ to kiss Jack again; one brief taste was not enough for him.

Suddenly, it’s all too painful for Ianto, all too much at once. Without a single word, he shoves past his best friend and flees down the stairs of the Owlery, leaving a speechless and hurting Jack behind.

* * *

The top of the Astronomy Tower is unbearably chilly at night, and Ianto’s skin pricks up into gooseflesh, but he’s too cowardly to venture back into the castle for a cloak, so he stays there the entire night, thinking, never sleeping.

_Coward_. That word sums Ianto entirely up. Ianto Jones is a coward. He was scared of his father. He is scared of his future. He is scared by his feelings for Jack.

His cowardice has led his entire life until this moment. There is a reason he was Sorted into Slytherin rather than Gryffindor. But maybe it’s time that he starts being brave for once.

As dawn breaks over the Astronomy Tower, Ianto comes to a decision.

After a quick shower, he parts his hair neatly and straightens the sleeves of his collared shirt. For extra measure, he even sprays a bit of Muggle cologne that Rhiannon gifted him for his birthday.

Then Ianto marches straight up to Jack where he sits beside Gwen, Tosh, and Owen in the Great Hall, and he leans down across the Slytherin table, gently hauls Jack forward, the other boy’s eyes widening in bewilderment, and captures his lips. He channels all his passion, frustration, and love into kissing the living daylights out of Jack. Judging by the other boy’s quiet gasps into his mouth and the way that his arm wraps around Ianto’s neck, it seems to be working.

Finally, he parts from Jack, chest heaving as he pants, and abruptly realizes that all of the Great Hall is staring at them. Everyone. Their friends, other students, even professors. Ianto realizes that right now, he doesn’t really care, not when Jack is right in front of him, lips pink from their kiss, hair tousled, and looking faintly stunned.

“Not that I’m complaining,” Jack says slowly, “but what was that about?”

“I love you,” Ianto tells him determinedly. “Go on a date with me?”

“Definitely, but where?”

Ianto shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter. As long as you’re there with me.” He smiles down at Jack who _beams_ brightly back. Quickly, before he gets _too distracted_ , he turns to Tosh, Owen, and Gwen who all wear puzzled but happy expressions. “I’m sorry for being a bad friend recently. I owe all of you.”

“I owe you too,” Jack tells them, looking contrite. “I’ve been a _horrible_ friend.” He gives them an apologetic smile. “Forgive me?”

“Of course,” Gwen says, still looking bewildered. Behind her, Tosh and Owen nod in agreement. “But _where are you going_?” She glances at Jack who has his hand wrapped around Ianto’s and is dragging him out of the Great Hall.

Jack grins at her. “Apologies are important and everything, but Ianto and I have three weeks of snogging to make up for.”

Owen scowls. “We didn’t need to know that!”

As Ianto, smiling widely and unbelievably happy for once, follows his best friend - and now boyfriend, he guesses - out of the Great Hall, he calls after his shoulder, “And don’t think you and Tosh are being subtle either!”

Owen lobs a bread roll after them, which Ianto nonverbally deflects with his wand, and Jack howls with laughter.

The first two weeks of Ianto’s final year at Hogwarts may have started out rocky, but now, with Jack beside him and his friends behind him, Ianto thinks that the rest of the year will be alright.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr [here](http://princess-of-the-worlds.tumblr.com/) or on Twitter [here](https://twitter.com/rajkumarinik) to let me know how much you liked this fic or request a prompt. Also, please comment or drop a line below even if it's to telling me how you've been doing. I thrive on kudos and social interaction, especially in this day and age.


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